The Japanese and U.S. national security advisers agreed Friday to boost mutual cooperation to deal with issues in East Asia, such as North Korea's nuclear threat, a Japanese government official said.
Shotaro Yachi, a close aide to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and head of the secretariat of Japan's new national security council, and his U.S. counterpart, Susan Rice, reached the agreement during a meeting in Washington.
Yachi and Rice "agreed to frequent regular communications between the two National Security Councils," according to the White House.